“AD70 and the End of the World” – out today!

My new book on the end times comes out today and many of you don’t care. You don’t care because you have been burned by bad end times preaching. Or you’ve had unpleasant conversations. You have found that discussing the end times is like discussing politics. No matter what you say, half the people in the room are going to jump on you.

“End times? Who needs it? Jesus wins, that’s all I need to know.”

This was certainly my view a few years ago.

But then some of you began asking me about the year AD70 signaling a growing interest in preterism. (Preterism, in contrast with futurism, is the view that Biblical prophecy has largely been fulfilled.) In the past three to four years, I have been asked more questions about AD70 than any other subject.

At first I was reluctant to join the eschatological conversation. But then I thought, “Why not?” Surely if there is any subject in need of grace, it is the traditionally scary topic of what the future may hold.

Judgment Day, the rapture, the antichrist, and the great tribulation. The future is frightening apparently. Which is puzzling, because if grace is good news today, how can it be bad news tomorrow? If the gospel brings great joy, how can it inspire so much fear and anxiety? Something doesn’t add up.

And yes, I really do believe there is good news in Christ’s darker parables and prophecies of judgment. Stunning good news.

“So are you a preterist, Paul?”

I get asked this question a lot, probably because of the book’s title. I also get asked if I’m a pre-trib amillennialist or a post-trib premillennialist or whatever other crazy combination of adjectives one can think of. It’s like a test. “Give me the right answer and we can be friends. But fail the test and I won’t speak to you.”

This is an unhealthy approach. I’m not interested in getting the right answers on anyone’s end times test; I am passionately interested in exploring the beauty of Christ’s words. I have been super blessed in studying what Christ told his disciples about the future. Read this book and you’ll be blessed too.

“So what makes AD70 different from other end times’ books?”

For starters, it’s light hearted, because we all need to lighten up on our traditionally dim views of the last days.

“So this is not a serious book then?”

It is seriously fun! If God has great dreams for you (he does!) then prophetic books ought to be inspiring, don’t you think? Yet many are patronizing or hysterical. They reek of fear and pride.

“But which side do you lean towards? Preterism or futurism?”

Do you mean which gang am I affiliated with? Neither. Both. I dunno. But as far as I know AD70 and the End of the World is the only end times’ book that has been endorsed by both preterists and futurists.

“So what is the book about?”

It’s about the last days and the fall of Jerusalem. It’s about the great tribulation, the rapture, and the return of Christ. It’s about the prophecies and parables of Jesus that have for too long been used to stir up fear when they ought to have inspired trust in a good God. It’s about a Savior who is no spectator but an active player on history’s stage. It’s about a King who has come and is coming again.

Paul Ellis states that his book “…is seriously fun! ”
Is it “fun” to read about huge populations of the earth being destroyed at Christ’s coming because of their resistance to His return? This will actually take place. And I wonder if he includes in his book the common misconception of people being thrown into the Lake of Fire to be, supposedly, tormented forever?!

“Judgment Day, the rapture, the antichrist, and the great tribulation. The future is frightening apparently. Which is puzzling, because if grace is good news today, how can it be bad news tomorrow? If the gospel brings great joy, how can it inspire so much fear and anxiety? Something doesn’t add up.”

Thanks, Paul for standing firm on scripture and pointing to Jesus again and again and again…

Paul, I’m reading this now and so far I REALLY like it! I’m only on Chapter 17 because I’m limited to reading at night but I’m learning so much about rightly dividing the truth and letting scripture interpret scripture. Thank you for sending the PDF!! God bless you and your family.

Personally I have come to believe that Armaggedon is not the end but the beginning. “The beginning is near”. Armeggedon, I believe, is a situation rather than event. The war of the great day of God the almighty whose ways and wars are so much higher than our ways and wars. A holy war – or jihad if you like. A spiritual war. Between ideological opposites. Religion vs the gospel. Those embracing religion are already “destroyed” which includes being “made stupid” (one of the best articles on the Internet Paul!!). God does not destroy or judge them! They destroy themselves. They judge themselves worthy of religion (death). They judge themselves unworthy of life – liberation from religion by the gospel of grace!

Hi Paul,
End times has never been my focus but you make it sound inviting. Can we swap PDFs – My “Is There An Elephant In YOUR Church? which is on Amazon – with 222,000 word and plenty of great charts etc. – for yours? Just asking?
Lenny R.

So after writing 500 plus pages I suppose it’s superfluous to mention F.W. Farrar “The Early Days of Christianity”…..they opened up some really new horizons for me having come from a Brethren/Baptist background…appreciate your posts Paul

I knew you would pick the leaf for the cover (that was my vote). I want to buy the book, but on Amazon, I see that it’s only offered in Kindle format. I’m not a fan of e-books; I need a physical, real book I can hold. Will it ever come out in paper-or-hard back?

I think Imsignedd up for this book, awaiting a delivery date. I was on Amazon the other day and a message said I would automate receive a copy of this book in my library. Nothing as of yet. Can you help me locate it or tell me when it will arrive?

Hi Paul… always loving your work ✅ Have you seen any of Trey Smiths work❓ He covers a great deal of rather fascinating stuff including End Times. I’ve noticed a good portion of his stuff comes from the Book of Enoch. Can you give us an insight into this book❓ I’ve done a bit of research but would love your insight into it, particularly as a ‘protestant’ part of the body and being totally unfamiliar with it. If any of it is true, then its a definite head spin, particularly for those with an interest in End Times. 🤔 Cheers… PS, When you coming to Brisbane❓😃

wow I read the book and am enlightened in some areas, and I understand the great tribulation is in the past, can you please share light on the Mark of the Beast and about people receiving it, I thought it was part of a great tribulation to come, but since it is in the past where does this one fit ( apologies in case I missed it in the book), what about the 1000 year rule of Christ? The Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment, are they different events? Thank you.

This book focuses on the words of Jesus, specifically his parables and prophecies of judgment. Maybe one day I’ll write another on the words of John. You can find articles here on the Judgment or Bema seat. Use the search box in the right sidebar to find them.

When I first came to E2R I thought Paul fully understood, so I fully understood. And the Bible says two different things about that. Paul says don’t be a know it all, but on the other hand he says we have the spirit through which we can know all things even as he does. Don’t be discouraged viwe2 if the devil or the world or the spanish inquisition point out your flaws. As Paul says, all the while there will be the sweet and gentle holy spirit encouraging you, defending you, and teaching you how to say no to ungodliness.

I hope to have an audio version of the book in due course, but then I say that for every book and so far…

In the meantime, one way to listen to AD70 on your smart phone or tablet would be to download the DRM-free pdf version of the book and use any text-to-speech app (eg: Voice Dream). I haven’t actually done this, but i believe it should work. (Maybe someone could let me know.)

“An eclectic interpretation. This system picks and chooses elements from each of the other interpretive systems and applies them at different places in the text. It is the ultimate “interpretive smorgasbord” whose proponents proclaim combines the best from each system. “The solution is to allow the preterist, idealist, and futurist methods to interact in such a way that the strengths are maximized and the weaknesses minimized.”1

A growth in popularity of the eclectic interpretation is to be expected given our postmodern age, for the eclectic system of interpretation has much in common with it: First, the tendency to embrace all paths as being approximately equivalent; Second, the desire to avoid treating other views negatively; Third, the willingness to allow for a variety of interpretations of what truth is (your truth is your truth, my truth is my truth). The Word of God’s objective claim that there is a single path to truth undermines the claims of an eclectic approach much as it does the claims of postmodernism.

5″Because of their first-century template for interpreting Bible prophecy, preterists come close to investing certain historians with canonic authority. . . . Should Josephus’s writings become the sixty-seventh book of the Bible?” — Larry Spargimino,

Quotes from A Testimony of Jesus Christ – A Commentary on the Book of Revelation by Anthony Garland

I am reading AD70 now. It’s the best and easiest read on Matthew 24. I love the debating between the futurist and preturist in the book. Regardless of your views on eschatology, you will benefit greatly from this book. If we really want truth, then we have to digest that our present views could be wrong. Thanks for the research that went into this book. It’s excellent!!!

However, the book does not go in depth on Revelation itself (especially Ch 6-18, the core of the book). What’s your take on the section, especially since it talks about God’s wrath/punishment? (If you post in blog, feel free to spread out)

Hi Paul, I’ve been reading this book and have to disagree with chapter 23 conclusion that there is nothing in the NT to suggest God punished the Jews in AD70. It’s pretty clear in the parable of the Wedding Banquet that the king was representative of God. In verse 7 of Mt22 Jesus says, “ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.”Is this not what happened in AD70?

Yes, I still have to disagree with you on this b/c to say that God’s wrath was not poured out on Jerusalem in 70AD is to completely ignore the scathing admonishing Christ gave over & over to the Pharisees & Sadduccees…